UPS – Finding Efficiency
Last Updated on Tuesday, 26 May 2015 02:04 Written by Albert Greenhut Tuesday, 24 February 2015 04:47
UPS delivers 15.8 million packages a day worldwide. To squeeze every ounce of efficiency out of its operations UPS needs to focus on even the smallest things. One of the things that UPS has done is use and algorithm to make its truck routes more efficient, in part, by minimizing the number of left turns its nearly 100,000, trucks take. This may not seem like much to an individual driver, as many consumers see the world, but on a global scale it adds up quickly. UPS estimates that this program has shortened routes by 20 million miles, saves 10 million miles of gas, delivering 350,000 extra packages, and reducing CO2 emissions by 20,000 metric tons each year.
They have not completely eliminated left turns, doing so could result in a comical route map of swirling loops of right turns, but have greatly reduced their frequency. Each time a left turn gets eliminated so does time waiting for a turn, gas wasted while idling, and the increased probability of an accident. On a large scale this means more profit for UPS.
Parts that have been corroded by the time they arrive to the customer must be replaced, with additional shipping and rework costs. Forgeries cost time and money to identify to be substituted. Outdated methods of preservation (oils and greases) cost extra and often require additional cleaning and additional disposal. In the case of oil-coated plastic in Europe, it can result in the packaging being considered non-recyclable with the social stigma and higher disposal and handling costs associated with that. These are just some of the inefficiencies that companies around the world are using Intercept Technology to turn into profit centers.
A large steel company saw a reduction from slightly under 1% of rejections on its coils to zero rejections when they switched to Intercept Technology coil bags. That fraction of a percent turned into hundreds of thousands of extra dollars of profit and happier customers and eliminated the need for expedited shipping of replacements across oceans. This is just one story of how a company can profit from wringing every last drop of efficiency out of their operations.
As global competition heats up the next series of winners and losers can be decided by the smallest margins, companies like UPS have survived because they use points of weakness as opportunities to innovate. We at Intercept Technology pride ourselves at helping companies do just that, finding savings and efficiencies.
See how we can help you too at www.intercepttechnology.com
